policy & reform
The reality is that universities don’ t have years to increase their revenue stream.
“ Universities need to consider having a complete set of skills, covering academic leadership as well as commercial and business acumen,” says Professor Bruce Dowton, vice-chancellor and president of Macquarie University.
“ If the senior executive leader of a university does not have experience across these broad domains then the executive leadership team should cover the breadth of required skills, with a preparedness by the vice-chancellor to take advice on commercial matters from those with deep business skills who in turn should respect the primacy of the academic mission of the organisation.”
Dowton is adamant that a businessperson should have had experience in academia for him or her to fully understand and embrace what an academic institution represents as well as acclimatising to the way it functions.
“ Universities should not seek a person with only business skills to head their academic institution,” he says.“ The leader of the institution should ideally have an understanding of, and experience with, academic or research organisations at some level. Whilst the field of candidates for individuals to lead universities with the breadth of academic and business / commercial skills can at times be thin, the real message is that universities have a responsibility to develop the subsequent cohorts of leaders who do have such skills to take on senior leadership roles.”
Professor Andrew Vann, vice-chancellor and president of Charles Sturt University has a mixed background of business and academia. Vann trained as a civil engineer and worked in engineering consultancy before completing a PhD in the Civil Engineering Systems Group at the University of Bristol. He has worked in Australian universities for 17 years holding senior academic roles and undertaking research interests in structural monitoring and artificial intelligence.
“ No vice-chancellor brags about their turnover,” Vann says.“ It is not what we are about. You have to get the money in but it is a secondary consideration to your primary objective of providing the best teaching, research and education facilities for students.
Entrepreneurs
“ But we do have to think more businesslike. Some business people have come into academia and done well, others have struggled due to various complexities such as the many different competing factors within a university.
“ I think on the whole Australian universities have been very entrepreneurial.
16 | February 2013
The emphasis on attracting and retaining international students has been marketed successfully and I think we are much more capable as a sector.”
Vann says that academics wanting to undertake head of faculty jobs or move to deputy vice-chancellor or vice-chancellor should be given every opportunity through the university offering them business and leadership courses offered by institutions such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
“ There is a lot of training for leaders within universities with a variety of management courses on offer,” Vann says.“ You need to able to balance budgets and there will always be the potential for conflict between business and academia because of the outcome but we need to find a way to work together.”
Professor Andrew Vann with students
Monash University has probably the biggest turnover of any Australian university at about $ 2 billion a year. With in excess of 63,000 students and more than 15,000 staff spread across its six campuses in Australia, it is a busy institution.
The university also has campuses in Malaysia, South Africa, China, India and Italy.
“ Every university now has a complex array of funding activities,” says the vice-chancellor, Ed Byrne.“ Every vicechancellor is the equivalent of a chief executive officer and needs a solid group of business principles to help him or her manage the university.”
Byrne says that the fundamental principles of a university focusing on education and research must remain. He says that for a vice-chancellor or head of